Let’s talk encumbrances: What are they and How should I manage them? Donna Carter Polly Parnell

Financial Oversight As we settle into the new fiscal year, we need to continue with monitoring and reviewing our cost center balances. Keeping a mindful eye on activity and projecting year-end balances. There are several tools available to assist you with your financial oversight. Planned activity was introduced last fiscal year as a way of projecting cost center balances (rolled up to the Dean/Director level) at the end the fiscal year. Encumbrances are also a valuable tool in this financial oversight.

Encumbrance? Definition - according to Dictionary.com: Something that encumbers; something burdensome; useless; or superfluous; burden; hindrance. Law. A burden or claim on property, as a mortgage.

Encumbrance – Defined as An amount expected to be charged against a cost center based upon a known obligation. Most common are amounts associated with open Purchase Orders – orders that have been placed for goods or services that have not yet been provided, and thus are outstanding obligations of the University. Salaries are also encumbered for appointed positions as an outstanding obligation. We’re expanding this definition to include anticipated expenses for standing orders, blanket travel authorizations, and internal blanket orders. While not an official obligation of the University, it provides you a tool for better financial oversight.

Types of Encumbrances PO Salary Wage

PO Encumbrances Encumbrance balances are created when PO lines are created. Encumbrance balances are reduced on- line when an order is closed or cancelled. Encumbrances are relieved or removed in batch when an expenditure against an order is processed.

Salary Encumbrances Salary (appointed employees) encumbrances are updated nightly using the current salary distribution and payroll data, if one has occurred. Salary encumbrances also cross fiscal years, through the last encumbrance period available on the Dynamic Balance file.

Wage Encumbrances The BASIS team has developed a new feature to forecast future wage expenses by assuming that they will mirror past expenses at an aggregate level. We aggregate the Wages and Student Wages by Departmental Accounting Center for each hourly payroll (two per month), and create an equivalent encumbrance amount for the same payroll one year out (unless that future payroll is later than the Center's Inactive Date).

Agri Experiment Station DAC’s For implementation purposes, DREX related DAC’s had the Encumbrance Option set to No, do not affect DAC balances. Per the director’s office. Going forward, the first time wages are picked-up by the hourly wage program for a newly created DAC, the program will automatically set the Encumbrance Option to No, do not affect DAC balances.

How to find and manage Wage Encumbrances WebBASIS as an Administrator

Finding The Wage Encumbrance Maintenance facility may be accessed in either of the following ways within webBASIS:  Hourly Time Menu  Drill down on Financial Balances

GA Summer Pay Caveat: Graduate assistant Compensation Types GR (GA Summer Research) and GT (GA Summer Teaching), although encumbered in WagesStu, are based upon XPAY (extra pay) and SUMT (summer teaching) transactions so they are not part of this Wage Encumbrance system.

It adds up CompanyWagesWagesStu Fringes - Wages Fringes - WagesStu Encumbrances as of June 30, ,362, ,714, , , ,331, ,342, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,013, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Total7,787, ,543, , ,543.84

Questions? Comments!

BASIS Projects In process Wrapping up Future

Current Projects TARGET reviews on the web Employee web initiated Retirement Changes Disability and Veteran Status Changes Educational Differential Parking Permit Type Changes Hours worked for Hourly employees – assist in managing the 1500 hours worked in fiscal year rule Sam’s Card – new e-business partner for Business Services A-21 Changes – no longer required to perform Administrative certifications Payroll Subsidiary Ledger – a new data warehouse file that will contain the origin cost center expense data. Shared Data Warehouse Reports

What’s on the Horizon? Self Reporting of Leave Electronic invoices - All RazorBuy catalog vendors provide an electronic invoice that will be extracted for upload into BASIS. ACH file format change – our vendors are requiring more information be transmitted to them via electronic payment.

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